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District Engineer Transportation for the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
Hamid Mohmand, BCE, ME, P.Eng.
Find out more about his exciting career and contributions by clicking below My Job
Describe your job for me: There are five core areas my position covers:
I also assist the Ministry of Transportation headquarters in Victoria to plan, develop & manage programs and act as a representative for the Ministry at open house sessions and to public inquiries. I’m the only professional resource for the Lower Mainland district in the New Westminster office of the Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure. Of the 11 transportation districts, the Lower Mainland is the largest.
Day in the life of your position: A typical day of work involves the coordination of all our regional projects, and everything that comes as a result of those projects. Some routine parts of my job are attending meetings, answering public phone calls, planning for current and future projects, and letting our technicians know about minor problems or public complaints that require investigation. I’ll also go out in the field for quality assurance and research/planning. The big project right now is the Gateway Program and, although they have their own project staff, there is a lot of engineering liaison between us and them, which I am responsible for.
What specifically are you responsible for on the roads? You name it and I’ve had something to do with it! My two main specialties are traffic engineering (things like signs, signal design, pavement design, interchanges, and intersections) and transportation planning (with regards to how the area is growing, how the traffic patterns will change, or how certain areas will need traffic). I am in charge of the management of all engineering projects, regardless of if they were delivered by our office or not, and to make sure everything is sustainable on a long-term basis. That’s why my job has such a heavy coordination and collaboration aspect. The Gateway Program, for example, is not my project, but I am involved in the planning because the maintenance and upkeep of the project will be in my hands after completion.
My Career
What’s your career path thus far? Back in ’98 when I received my undergrad degree, I worked with the National Highway Authority in Pakistan. After coming to Canada to finish my Masters in Waterloo, I started with the Ministry of Transportation in Ontario as a project manager for their Central Region, Toronto Office. I then worked for a private company in Edmonton before moving to Vancouver in 2006 and starting at this job. My entire career has been in the transportation engineering industry.
What brought you to your current position? I was inspired to enter this profession by my family who are all engineers. I chose civil engineering because of the difference they make on society. Civil engineers are nation builders. I feel like I’m in a profession that impacts the public life. Transportation is the back bone of any country’s economy – if you have a good transportation system, you’ll have a good economy.
My History
What are some of the major projects you’ve accomplished? One of the biggest projects I always talk about is introducing median cable barriers in our district. We introduced the system for the first time in Chilliwack and it has reduced fatalities caused by vehicles driving more than 100 km/hr which lost control. It’s a system that really enhances highway safety. Some other recent projects we’ve undertaken are some much needed improvements to the signal systems in Surrey and to the HOV lanes on Highway 99. Right now, we’re working on quite a few projects, like a new median barrier system in the Coquitlam area. We’ll manage and deliver every project in the district under $500,000 exclusively from this office.
What is the hugest hurdle you’ve had to overcome? As a newcomer in Canada, the only hurdle I’ve had within my job is communication. I learned English in school, but I try to improve my conversation skills on a constant basis. Practice makes perfect.
What about the most recurrent hurdle in your job? The most recurrent issue is the tight deadlines that this business requires. If there is a serious issue that we need to look after, it usually needed to be fixed yesterday. Often, managing our resources is hard because we coordinate with so many different groups of people. Although we’re always working towards the same goal, it’s hard to focus ourselves on that common thread.
My Thoughts
What value does your job bring to BC? As I said, my job is to provide professional services to BC’s highway system for the safe, economic, and efficient movement of people and goods. I have a direct impact on public life for the province.
What’s the best thing about your job? My job brings change and I can see it happen. If I plan for a project, I can see something physically when it is complete and it makes me feel satisfied. I can be driving down the street and think “this is something I’ve thought about and planned out.” I also like dealing with the public.
What’s life like outside of work? I live in South Surrey, close to White Rock, in a very family-oriented community with my wife and daughter. I love living out there. We’re close to the beach and to plenty of trails.
What do you think is in the future for BC? BC is having a big boom within transportation and infrastructure. I can see the best future for BC as we attract the entire world. We are the shortest seaport destination to Asia which provides us with a lot of business and transportation infrastructure development opportunities. As far as work goes, changing demographic factors means the baby boomers are gone and high management opportunities will be available in the near future – it’ll be easy to climb the ladder. Basically, there’s nothing but good stuff in the future for BC.
What is the value of Licensed Pros to BC? There is a public impact on day-to-day life. We provide a high level of service to the concept of the three E’s – engineering, enforcement, and education – which adds to BC’s high caliber of life.
What does the phrase Professionals Making a Difference in BC mean to you? Professionals are making a difference – look at all the major projects engineering professionals have delivered. You can see physically how professionals are changing British Columbia. It is a fact that professionals make a difference to BC. I would like to add that there are a number of professionals who waste their skills. Canada is based on immigration and multiculturalism and I’ve seen people like Doctors and Engineers driving cabs. We need to give people training, and not compromise on standards. We can bring benefit to the industry. We can certainly use their help if we allow them to use their skills!
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